British Council Nepal awarded International Schools Award to nine Nepalese schools at an event organised at Hotel Yak & Yeti today - 9 June 2014.

The award was handed over by Dr Lava Deo Awasthi - General Secretary of Department of Education and Andrew James Sparkes CMG, British Ambassador to Nepal. This award is endorsed and supported by the Ministry of Education and this is the second year, Nepali Schools are being awarded this award. Sixteen schools from sixteen districts of Nepal had applied for the ISA award out of which full award is granted to nine schools. Based on the dossier evaluation and school visits by a team of representatives from the British Council, Department of Education and Curriculum Development Centre, the listed schools are honoured with the award for the year 2013/14.

The schools include Gyanodaya International Residential School, Lalitpur, Bhu.Pu. Sainik Trust English Higher Secondary Boarding School, Lamjung, Dol Bhanjyang Higher Secondary School, Dhading, Nagarjuna Kids World, Lalitpur ,he Celebration Co-Ed, Kathmandu, Gladstone Academy, Bhaktapur,Baylor International Academy, Kavre,Shree Saraswati Model Higher Secondary School, Kailali,Rampur Higher Secondary School, Doti.

However, considering the need to acknowledge the schools who have not succeeded to get the full ISA award we will be providing Foundation Certificate for introducing Internationalism for the schools included.Durga Bhawani Adarsha Community School, Kaski,Shining Stars Secondary Boarding School, Lalitpur, Chelsea International Academy, Kathmandu, New Environment Higher Secondary School, Rupendehi,Shree Janabikas Higher Secondary School, Lamjung, Social Public School, Kaski, Panchodaya Higher Secondary School, Kailali

The schools receiving the full award will be provided with a trophy and certificates and will be allowed to use the International School Award logo on all the official stationeries for a period of three years. Schools receiving the foundation award can use it for one year.

A total of sixteen schools participated in the British Council International School Award in 2013. These schools worked on seven different projects including a collaborative project  2 with their partner school which was based on their school curriculum. These projects were then assessed based upon their learning outcomes by a panel.

The Chief Guest, Dr Lava Deo Awasthi - General Secretary of Department of Education expressed “We feel privileged to be a part of the collaboration with the British Council International School Award (ISA) which adds value to our current education system. It not only connects people but ‘connects nations’ and such innovative schemes should be replicated and practiced across Nepal to uplift the education system for international dimension.”

While Andrew James Sparkes CMG, British Ambassador to Nepal expressed, “ISA is the centre stage to promote international learning. It nurtures students and enriches teaching and learning in schools by connecting people globally. With growing social media platform, it gives ample of opportunities to learn and better understand different culture through international partnership. This year we will be celebrating 200 years of bilateral relation between UK and Nepal and we are delighted to be associated with great projects like ISA where ‘the possibilities for growth are endless”.

According to a press release of British Council, ISA is a yearly award given to participating schools. Applications from interested schools are called in every year, April/May period and schools are selected on the basis of their application. The British Council offers the ISA as an accreditation framework for schools to record and evaluate their international work and embed it into the curriculum. ISA acts as a benchmark that ascertains schools as having an outstanding level of support for Nurturing global citizenship in young people  and Enriching teaching and learning .

The ISA approach to school development is holistic and mirrors the curriculum based project work approach to encourage the teachers to use with their students. It is rigorous and

evidence based process. It encourages the leaders to foster teambuilding, innovation, and project management. The schools need to put together the action plan and the portfolio of evidence that encourages collaboration and critical thinking. ISA is content free and schools are encouraged to embed it within their own curriculum. ISA gives context to practice new skills in Information & Communications Technology (ICT) and pedagogy in a safe and structured manner. Participating in briefings and workshops, online community and the award ceremony brings together a large number of schools across the country fostering rich exchange of ideas and creating a vibrant community of education professionals.